With baby number three on the way, I knew right away that baby would share a room with us (since we co-sleep till up to 2 years anyways!) And then he will move into a room with the other kids.

I am hoping by then, we move to a bigger house so I get to have a boys and girls room and still get to have a play room. I love having all the toys in a separate room, it really keeps the mess contained.

But anyhow, since baby is sharing a room with us, I still wanted to create a "space" for him, but I didn't want to make my master bedroom look like a nursery.

Here is what I came up with:

I really liked the old lay out, but I needed the crib to be next to me so I can keep an eye on baby (to make sure he is still breathing- you know how it is with a new baby)

Our little boy will be here in 4 weeks!(give or take a bit.) I think we are almost ready for this little guy: clothes and cloth diapers are washed and put away, crib, car seat, stroller, baby rocker is ready. I also started throwing things together for my hospital bag.

Weight gain:

32 pounds!

Baby Growth:

Baby boy is about 18 inches long and weighs 5.25 pounds.

Symptoms:

Pelvic pain is pretty bad, but not as bad as it was a few days ago. It still hurts to walk, get out of bed, stand up and change sides in bed. However, a few days ago it was so bad, that I would cry.

I also feel the babys head in the pelvis, and I feel and hear a grinding sound when he moves.

I am waddling all the time because I feel that my pelvis is going to break and it hurts to walk.

I have also been so TIRED lately. I can not imagine getting through the day without a nap. I feel shaky and if I don't lay down, I feel like I will collapse. But I am a mom of 2 little kids. I homeschool, and take care of them all day.

Let me tell you what birch box is, just in case you are not familiar with it.

It's a monthly subscription service which is $10.00 a month where you get sent 4-5 high-end samples each month. First you take a little survey so they can find out more about your skin, make up likes and dislikes so they know what to send you.

You know how I love trying out new products? Well, with the birch box, I can try high end products without having to buy full size products. If I love the product, then I can go buy it :)

Bible story about how Jesus healed the sick, a chapter in Devotions for the Childrens hour about the Miracles of Jesus, we recite that weeks rhyme and work on memorizing the verse for that lesson plan, and we sing the song that is part of the lesson plan.

This takes us about 20 minutes.

Next we do spelling.

This is NOT part of the curriculum, instead it is something I like to add.

This is the book we use right now. I copy the pages and glue them into this spelling journal for her.

That way I can reuse the book for my son, when he is ready for this.

After spelling, we do geography.

This is NOT part of the curriculum, instead it is something I like to add.

This is the book we use. I copy the pages and put them into a binder for my daughter.

She truly loves geography and gets so excited when she sees this binder in her work box.

At the beginning of this pregnancy, I started breaking out a lot and nothing seemed to work. I went to Nordstrom and decided to try the Arcona trial kit. I really liked it and bought some full size products. It seemed to work for a bit, then it just stopped working. It is probably my crazy hormones with this pregnancy.

The "best" working product out of this whole set is the Tabula Rasa. You apply it to your face and it controls the breakouts. It actually kinda stings, so you know it is working.

I will not repurchase these products, Even though they are natural and "good" for your skin, they are VERY expensive, and I feel for the price, they don't work as good as they should. There are other things out there that work better.

Baby Growth:This week, baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal.

Symptoms:

Really uncomfortable most of the time.Pelvic, back and hip pain this week. I actually think I feel the babies head in the pelvis! Still no stretch marks and the belly button is in. I can not get enough sleep. I am so tired all the time. 2 weeks ago I had a growth scan to see how big the baby is, because doctor is concerned that the baby will be big. At 31 weeks, the baby was *estimated* to be 4.75 pounds! (90th percentile) The ultrasound tech said that the baby has a big head.

I get a lot of questions weather or not my kids were born on the same day, the answer is no, their birthdays are 3 days apart (the 8th and the 11th). So I have been throwing them a shared party for the past three years. (You can see their carnival party and their craft party )

This year we decided on a Prince and Princess theme since both of my kids LOVE to play dress up.

I have a mental list in my head of things I want to get done before baby #3 comes. The good thing is that the list is getting shorter, which means that we are getting things done (or I am forgetting things, who knows with this pregnancy brain of mine-- I actually have to make notes for myself so I don't forget things... ) Anyways, back to the pantry.

One of the things on the list is: organize the pantry. Well I organize my pantry all the time, but its one of those things that gets messy so fast (like my husbands closet, I can organize and refold all his clothes and two days later, its back to being a mess!) Anyways, the pantry always gets messy because it is basically a big black hole! I get pantry envy whenever I see someone's big walk-in pantry. Maybe one day I will have one of those in "our dream home".

Ok, back to the pantry, I can never see what is in it (especially in the very back) My hubby discussed on what to do about this, and finally decided that we would get slide out shelves, however after a few crazy high bids, we threw that idea out of the window! Then 8 months later, came along a guy who actually gave us a reasonable bid and we finally got our slide out shelves!

Now I don't have to get on my knees to see what we have, and the useless space in the back is actually being used now. :)

We started our day out with an annual Thanksgiving church service, followed by a intimate thanksgiving dinner at our house, lighting hanukkah candles, opening hanukkah presents, and then lots of relaxing with the family (and playing with our new toys ;)

My daughter kept asking me if we could make hanukkah cookies for a few days now, so I finally found a few hours free to make some. My kids love these cookies, even without icing!

These cookies are soft and the icing dries pretty fast, which is great if you need to take your cookies somewhere. I first tried this recipe last year for hanukkah ( found here), ever since then, it has replaced my other rolled sugar cookie recipe because I feel it holds its shape so well and tastes to good!

Recipe originally from Allrecipes.com

Rolled Sugar cookies:

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups of butter softened

2 cups of white sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups of flour

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes (depending on how thick you roll out your cookies.

Sugar Cookie Icing

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups confectioners sugar

4 tsp milk

4 tsp light corn syrup

1/2 tsp almond extract

food coloring

Directions:

1.

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

2.

Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Use a piping bag to decorate the cookies. CLICK HERE TO PRINT

I put up our hanukkah decorations last night and the kids were so excited when they saw it all this morning!

Just some brief overview on Hanukkah and what it is:

In Hebrew "hanukkah" means dedication. The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.

Once the Maccabees had regained control they returned to the Temple in Jerusalem. By this time the Temple has been defiled by using it for worship of foreign Gods and sacrificing swine. Jewish troops were determined to purify the Temple by burning ritual oil in the Temple's menorah for eight days.

But they only had enough oil left for one day in the Temple. (It took 8 days to make more oil) They lit the menorah anyways and to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted for the full eight days!

Every year it is customary to commemorate the miracle of the Hanukkah by lighting a hanukkah menorah. The hanukkah is lit every night for eight nights.

Traditionally the Hanukkah menorah is set in front of the window (we tried it but with a curious 2 year old, it wasn't very safe.)

The large menorah is from pottery barn (last year) but they have it again this year and it is on sale now.

My kids love to play dreidel!

The dreidel is also from pottery barn (last year) but they have it again this year on sale!

I love that we are starting new traditions with our little family. I hope to keep it up each year, so one day they can keep these traditions with their families.